George English Auction results

[natal01]

I met George English some years ago. He lived in a flat in one of the rougher parts of Cape Town and , I believe never left the flat for fear of being robbed. He seemed to collect anything that came his way and clearly some good stuff came his way.
I attended both auctions and was pleased with my purchases, some of which were cheap by any measure and others were ok because I 'needed them '.
The badge sale at Welz was a small part of a bigger Art and Collectables auction. Fortunately the 70 or so badge lots were early in the auction so I didnt have to wait through all the other lots. I attach a pic of some of the items that I bought on this auction.
The Kaplan auction was a much more pressured affair with upwards of 2000 lots being disposed of in about 10 hours. Again I was happy with my purchases.
Looking back at some of the comments, I can confirm that the collection was mainly South African material and I dont recall seeing any Aussie badges at all.
I guess that we wont see the like of the English collection for a long while.
Regards
Mike

[Brian Conyngham]

Mike

I do recall you talking about the Cape Town recluse a few years ago, so it was George English. Trouble is living like that who gets to enjoy your collecting accomplishments?

How sad!

One can but wonder how many "closet collectors" there are out there?

Brian

[manchesters]

One can but wonder how many "closet collectors" there are out there?

Brian,

I wonder if anyone on here will come out of the closet?

regards

[Brian Conyngham]

Simon

Not THAT closet

Brian

[Alex Rice]

Hi Mike
Some great badges there, thanks for showing them.
Cheers,
Alex

[craigen]

Originally Posted by natal01

I guess that we wont see the like of the English collection for a long while.

Mike, I will do my best to prove you wrong.

But, God willing and wife and kids' education permitting, I hope you will see it at my place and not on auction.

All the best
Craig

[Traist]

Originally Posted by Brian Conyngham

Mike

I do recall you talking about the Cape Town recluse a few years ago, so it was George English. Trouble is living like that who gets to enjoy your collecting accomplishments?

How sad!

One can but wonder how many "closet collectors" there are out there?

Brian

Hi Brian, I used to visit George whenever I was in Cape Town. He may have seldom gone anywhere, but he was happy with his collection and always happy to show someone all his badges. He could talk for hours about them and where he got them etc. etc. etc. I always enjoyed a visit to see his collection. A couple of the collectors in Cape Town used to meet at his place from time to time. I am happy to say that I added quite a few of his badges to my collection. I believe that this is the best ending for a collection. Let it bring pleasure to many many collectors, rather than going into a vault at a museum. Regards Andrew

[Alex Rice]

Originally Posted by Traist

I am happy to say that I added quite a few of his badges to my collection. I believe that this is the best ending for a collection. Let it bring pleasure to many many collectors, rather than going into a vault at a museum. Regards Andrew

AGREED !

[Brian Conyngham]

Andrew I agree 100%, sorry, I got the impression from Mike he was a recluse.

Nothing worse than a collection being kept to one's self.

Brian

[shahldm]

I too met George many years ago through another dealer. The collection was formed over many years and largely from badges acquired locally.

My badge collecting has a pretty narrow focus these days so was not really after much in the helmet plates (more speculative) but was successful with one bid. I was more interested in Kaplans, where apart from one or two lots got what I was after. When they arrive I will post the odd picture or two.

[sabrigade]

photo 1.JPG

Excluding the 1915 clasp knife, these are my badge purchases from the Kaplan auction.

[Brian Conyngham]

Will

I had my eye on a few of those

What is the artillery one?

Brian

[sabrigade]

tha.jpg

Hi Brian,

It is the T.H.A.

Regards,

Will

[Brian Conyngham]

Thanks Will

Have 2 of those, one like this and the other appears to have a copperish finish and rather rounded, suspect bent to the shape of a beret?

These are not so easy to come by lately.

Glad to see you posting. Is jy nog steeds in die buiteland?

Brian

[sabrigade]

Hi Brian,

Yes, I leave paradise for home tomorrow (29th).

I need the T.H.A. badges for the S.A.M.R. connection.

Regards,

Will